“Media Sensing” is a feature in recent versions of Microsoft Windows operating systems including Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Vista. This feature automatically detects whether the network media are in a “link” state, in a Windows machine with TCP/IP protocols. With Media Sense feature, Windows senses a link state as UP or DOWN based on the link availability. Ethernet network adapters and hubs typically have a “link” light that indicates the connection status. This status is the same condition that Windows interprets as a link state. When Windows detects a “down” state, it removes the bound protocols from that adapter until it is detected as “up” again. When the network cable is disconnected from the Ethernet adapter, due to the action of Media Sensing feature, Windows shows a message like a “Network disconnected” icon on the Windows Taskbar and the ‘ipconfig’ command shows a “Media State …: Cable disconnected” message and disables the entire network protocol stack.
Media Sensing feature is enabled by default in Windows except Windows Server 2003. However, in instances where you do not want Windows to sense link status (very unlikely) in which case, you can disable the Media Sensing feature from Windows Registry.
To prevent the network adapter from detecting a link state,ie disable the Media Sensing feature in Windows, follow these steps.
- Start the Windows registry editor by clicking Start, then, Run, and then entering regedit.
- You’ll need to provide administrative confirmation if User Account Control(UAC) is turned on(If you are using Windows Vista).
- Navigate to the following registry key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Tcpip\Parameters
- From the Edit menu select New -> DWORD value.
- Enter a name of DisableDHCPMediaSense and press Enter.
- Double click the new value and set to 1.(Note: Setting “1″ will disable Media Sensing feature.If you to enable Media Sensing feature at a later time, set it “0″ or simply delete the this key.)
- Click OK and exit Windows Registry Editor.
- Restart your computer for the changes to take effect.
Note:
- This registry tweak applies to Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 (if enabled) and Windows 2000.
- 10b2 or coaxial (RG-58) Ethernet cable is not a connection-based media. Because of this, Windows does not attempt to detect a “connect” state if this type of cabling is used.
Warning:
Modifying the Windows registry can cause serious damage to your Windows Operating System.It is better to backup your Windows registry data before making any changes. Tomstricks.com is not responsible for any changes you may make to your system.
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